poor man's Sportline

[pmizell]

I've just about made up my mind that i'm gonna go the Sportline suspension upgrade route, but will probably leave out a part or two to minimize labor costs.

To that end, which parts can I leave out that give the most diminishing returns as far as ride performance and feel are concerned. In other words, which parts can I leave out, that are the most intensive labor wise, yet retain a majority of the upgraded suspension performance that Sportline offers?

I think I recall from a former post that the rear subframe is quite labor intensive to install. Is this part an important piece of the equation? Also, aren't there 4 subframes back there?

Shocks, struts and springs are an absolute must I'd imagine, but is changing the majority of the bushings important as well?

Thanks for any input!

(I think the subframe alone eats up 3 hrs of labor, that alone would save some significant $$, if of course it's not all that important)

~~Paul

[JCE]

Paul:
You can't do the rear sway bar without dropping the rear sub, so while it is down, might as well do the bushings. I would order the whole kit, and not install the front lower control arm bushings until the old ones needed replacing if I wanted to save some labor cost. The bushings can't be that bad to purchase, but they were labor intensive on the install. Down the road when the stock bushings go bad, have the sportline bushings pressed in (maybe store them in a double zip lock bag in a dark place to avoid excess deterioration). Or get the part # for the LLCA bushings and order them down the road if you don't want to store them.

Paul,

You did not indicate what model MB you want to upgrade.

I have done a partial sportline updgrade on a 124 and am quite happy with it.

I won't bore you with details unless you are indeed working on a 124 car.

Have a great day,

[pmizell]

Thanks Larry for the reply:

I have a '91 300E, with no major suspension parts replacement to date. The car has 197,000 mi on it

I figured if I was gonna start replacing the worn out parts one by one, that I might as well go the 9 yards and do it all at once.

Thanks again,

Paul

Paul,

Do you have any worn suspension parts identified? My 300E has almost exactly the same mileage as yours and everything is still very tight.

I put in the Sportline sway bars with great success. The mistake I made was using KYB performance shocks. They are way too stiff. I would recommend Bilstein Heavy Duty or KYB standard. The Bilstein sport are for lowered cars. If you decide to use the sportline springs you will use the Bilstein sport.

By staying with the standard springs with slightly stiffer shocks and using the sportline sway bars you will maintain the resiliency of the suspension, but gain the sway control of the sportline suspension, this becomes a handling advantage over the sportline when you are on rough roads.

Replacing the rear sway bar is not too bad if you have a good controllable floor jack, a set of good jack stands and are VERY careful. The trick is to lower the rear suspension subassembly just enough to snake the sway bar in and out, without lowering it so much that you strain the brake hoses.

The other thing to do would be to go to 205/60 15 tires when it comes time to replace the tires. You can also go to 16'' wheels and go to a 50 or 55 series tire. These low profile tires will help a lot but stiffen the ride. If you stay with the stock springs and stiffer shocks, this is a good combination with the ultra low profile tires.

Enjoy,

Good luck,

[pmizell]

Larry:

Other than a noticeably lower stance, which I assume is due to sagging springs, no -- no visually identified worn out suspension parts.

The bushings all look ok (not peeling or splitting) but are not exactly pliable either. Other than that, I don't know how to tell if suspension parts need to be replaced other than judging by the car's ride, which is pretty poor compared to what it used to be. (car bottoms out alot -- kinda bouncy over humps, etc)

You see, the first 195k miles of this car were driven by my mother, who didn't exactly pamper the car during that tenure. I just inherited the car as a graduation present. I'm almost positive that NO suspension parts have ever been replaced. I'm gonna drive this car till it won't drive no more, so i'm in the process of making any necessary ugrades necessary to help it to its eventually grave, if ever.

I recently purchased some '15 Sportline rims on Ebay (7 in width, offset 37) which came with some 205/55/15 Potenza Revo's on them almost new. The handling difference from changing wheels alone was dramatic. I can only imagine the improved handling and ride I'll get if I put in Sportline replacements.

One thing I don't want, however, is a tighter turning ratio that JCE and others have reported experiencing with their upgrade. I like the steering as it is now. I don't want super tight and sensitive steering.

The engine is really running well right now after I changed the plugs, did a top end cleaning, and did a thorough flush of the cooling system. Needle never goes over 80, even in stop and go 100 degree traffic here in Houston.

So my current focus is the tired suspension ....

Thanks for the replies Larry, and John

~~Paul

__________________
'91 300E 197k

[JCE]

Paul:

You won't get a tighter steering ratio or faster steering with the Sportline unless you buy the Sportline steering parts, which I didn't do. My comments on steering may have been misleading. I have better road feel and the car feels more responsive, but nothing was done to the steering, still the same stock # of turns on the wheel, and the same ol box. Just feels 'better'.